Grass and Leaf
by shinobi101
Summary: Naruto is Rokudaime. He has already done a lot for his ex-teammate, the one and only Sasuke Uchiha, including getting him reinstated in the village. When a force threatens to destroy civilization as they know it, will their bond survive the challenges?
1. Chapter 1

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yes Konohamaru?"

"We have received an urgent message from the Hidden Grass Village."

The Hokage cocked an eyebrow, "Have the decoders work on it."

"That was what we did originally, Naruto-sama, but. . ."

"But what?" This conversation was making Naruto nervous.

"It is in a code directly from the Grass kage. We cannot decode it. Our only thought was that it was to be sent directly to you."

"Yes alright Konohamaru. Let me see that scroll." Konohamaru handed a green and red scroll with the kanji for urgent on it to the blonde Hokage. Naruto read it. "This is not good."

"What's not good Naruto?"

"This message! Things are going to get very bad, very fast."

"It is confidential correct?"

"Yeah. Konohamaru, are you on duty today?" Naruto regarded the young ANBU.

"Um. No Naruto."

"Could you please give Moegi the day off?"

"Sure. She has guard duty today, right?"

"Yeah, she's right outside the door." Naruto watched the young raccoon-masked ANBU. "Thanks Konohamaru."

"Of course Naruto. Anything for the greatest Hokage ever!" Naruto smirked.

"You know it!" Konohamaru saw through Naruto's mask of cheery words. Naruto was worried. Konohamaru sighed. Auh, well. Naruto would tell him what was wrong if it became necessary.

When Konohamaru left Naruto rested his head on his desk and rubbed his temples. "Why me?"

*************************************************************

Naruto read the not over and over. There was no bright side to the note. Naruto sighed.

The Grass kage's apprentice had defected from the Grass Village. He was said to be trying to steal the jade stone. The apprentice knew many of the Hidden Grass Village's forbidden jutsu. The jade stone would increase his power a hundred fold.

He was already one of the most feared shinobi in the world. The jade stone would give him the power to destroy all the hidden villages.

The Grass kage requested an assassination mission for him. Naruto knew this world take his highest level shinobi. The problem was that most of them were out on missions, and the remaining ones were needed to protect the village.

"Konohamaru?" Naruto called.

"Yes Naruto-sama?" Konohamaru said as he appeared from outside Naruto's office door.

"Could you bring me Tsunade-baachan and ero-sennin please?"

"Hai," Konohamaru disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto sighed. Again!

**5 minutes later**

Jiraya, Tsunade, and Konohamaru appeared in a cloud of smoke. "That will be all Konohamaru. I'll call you later."

"Hai Naruto-sama."

Jiraya smirked. "You wanted to see us, Naruto-sama?"

"Yes." Jiraya frowned. This must be serious if Naruto wasn't rising to his teasing. "I'm not quite sure how to explain this, so I've translated the scroll I received earlier for you to read."

**After they read the Scroll**

"So you want us to assassinate the apprentice?" Jiraya asked.

"No," Naruto said.

"No?" Tsunade asked, "What do you mean no?"

"I want you to watch over the village. Baachan, I want you to temporarily take over the position of Hokage and Ero-sennin I want you to take over the ANBU. Have them prepare our defenses incase I fail."

"Okay," Tsunade said.

"I'll do it, but isn't Uchiha head of the ANBU?" Jiraya asked, "Don't you trust him to handle this?"

"Well you didn't think I was stupid enough to go alone, did you?"

"Okay Naruto, but don't you think you should talk to the council first?"

"It would take too long. We must act now!"

"Hai."

"Tsunade, bring me Hyuuga Neji and Haruno Sakura. Jiraya, bring me Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hai." They disappeared in two puffs of smoke. Naruto sighed.

*********************************************************


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke was sitting in a tree at Team 7's old training ground. This had become a habit for him whenever he just wanted to think.

Today he was remembering the day he had woken up in the Konoha hospital after killing Itachi. He found out later that Naruto had found him unconscious and brought him home. The council had revoked his ninja status upon his arrival at the village.

He found out that Naruto had become on ANBU captain three months prior to his return to the village. After two months as a civilian, Naruto was announced the Rokudaime Hokage. Tsunade had convinced the council that he deserved it.

After becoming Hokage, Naruto convinced the council that, if Sasuke could pass loyalty tests, he should be reinstated as a Leaf Jounin. Needless to say, Sasuke passed. Now, a year and a half later, Sasuke was leader of the ANBU forces and he and Naruto were friends.

This was the train of thought that was derailed when Jiraya popped up in front of him.

"Jiraya-sama," Sasuke said.

"Uchiha-san, Hokage-sama has requested your presence in his office at once." Sasuke frowned. Jiraya usually laughed at the thought of calling Naruto 'Hokage-sama.' Now he seemed dead serious.

"What's going on?"

"I'll have to let Naruto explain that to you." But Sasuke had already disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jiraya followed his lead.

The first thing Sasuke heard when he appeared in Naruto's office was Konohamaru talking to Naruto.

"You want me to bring Hinata here than Naruto?"

"No. Just inform her that she will be taking Sakura's shift at the hospital starting tomorrow. I know Hinata usually does field missions, but it is necessary."

"Hai." Konohamaru turned towards the door, "Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"You know I will."

"Okay." Konohamaru left.

Naruto turned towards Jiraya. "Ero-sennin, you need to inform all the squad leaders of the change."

"Hai. I take it I can't tell them why though?"

"Hai." Jiraya too left.

"Naruto, what's going on?"

"Technically we should wait for Neji and Sakura, but here. I'll explain the details later though." Sasuke took the scroll offered to him.

Sakura, Neji and Tsunade arrived shortly after Sasuke finished reading the scroll. Naruto looked at Tsunade. "Baachan, take this scroll that explains the situation and my decision to the council. Don't let them object. Tell them my decision is final."

"Hai." Tsunade was gone.

Sakura looked at Naruto, whose face was very serious. "What's going on?"

Naruto took a breath. "Three days ago, the Grass kage's apprentice defected from the Hidden Grass Village. He took with him knowledge of the forbidden jutsu of the Hidden Grass Village. And, being a kage's apprentice, he was trained to use these jutsu. He is currently one of the greatest threats to the shinobi world."

Naruto needed another breath here. "He has been trying to steal the Hidden Grass Village's jade stone. This will increase his power one hundred fold. With this power, he could take out all the hidden villages. This is why the Grass kage has requested our help with an assassination attempt."

"So our mission is to take out the apprentice?" Neji asked. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto expectantly.

"No."

"No?" All three asked.

"No." Naruto looked at each of them individually. "Neji and Sakura, your mission is to protect the jade stone."

"Hai."

"What does that leave for me?" Sasuke asked.

"What? I can't call you here without having a reason?" Naruto smirked. Sasuke scowled. "Oh come off it teme. You're coming with me obviously."

"And where would we be going?" Sasuke was getting frustrated at being out of the loop.

"Oh. I guess I forgot to mention that part."

"Yes you did, so where are we going?" Sasuke smirked.

"We're taking the assassination part of the mission."

Sakura started yelling at Naruto at once. "You're leaving!?! You can't leave! You're Hokage! You need to be here to protect the village! What are you thinking!?! NARUTO!!"

"Relax Sakura! It's already taken care of! Tsunade is taking over being Hokage and Jiraya is preparing our defenses incase we fail. It's taken care of."

"Are you crazy?!? What if you die on this mission?"

"Then Tsunade's position as Hokage's not so temporary. And I've asked Jiraya to stay in the village. Those two have been protecting this village since before we were even born. The village would be in good hands."

Sakura sighed in defeat. Naruto had out maneuvered her at every turn.

"Sakura and Neji, I'd like you to leave tonight if possible. Sasuke meet me at seven o'clock tomorrow at the gates." Naruto stood up and headed for the window.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Out for some air. Don't worry. I'm not like the old hag. The paperwork's done." And with that Naruto was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto stood on top of the Hokage Monument. He came up here a lot to think. Most people thought that he stopped coming up here upon becoming the Sixth Hokage. Only Sasuke knew different.

He liked the wind up here and, on top of the Monument, you could always smell pine needles from the surrounding forest. Tonight, though, he didn't come up here just to relax. He was meeting someone.

As he waited for the person he was meeting to arrive, he thought of one of his more interesting arguments with the council. He had refused to wear the standard Hokage uniform, instead opting to wear a dusty orange t-shirt with a red leaf symbol on the back and green cargo pants. Some of the more nit-picky members objected to this.

Naruto fought them by saying that Tsunade never wore the uniform so he wouldn't either. They said she was a woman. Naruto called them sexists. They were scared that this image would be put out. Naruto won. It still made him smile.

All of a sudden a strangler dressed in a black cloak and mask appeared in front of Naruto. "Something funny, Naruto-kun?" the figure asked.

"No, no. Just remembering good times, Itachi-kun."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I thought you might want this, which will inform you of our current situation," Naruto handed Itachi a scroll, "and I wondered if you had the information I asked for."

"Of course. It's all in this scroll," Itachi handed Naruto a scroll back. "If that's all Naruto-kun, then I think I'll be leaving. You know it's dangerous for me to spend an extended amount of time here."

"Yes, you can leave." Naruto said. He felt really bed about not being able to tell Sasuke that Itachi was alive, but that would make Sasuke try to kill Itachi again. Itachi wasn't the traitor everyone thought he was. What he had done, he had done on the Leaf's orders.

Naruto was trying to get to the bottom of why the council would order the Uchiha Massacre When he had asked the council members, they said that Donzou had convinced them it was for the best. Naruto had also talked to Sai, who said that Donzou disappears for extended periods of time without telling anyone where he was going.

Naruto now had a theory and what was in Itachi's scroll could prove or destroy his theory.

He sat down on the bench at the top of the Monument and read through the scroll.  
What he saw both horrified and delighted him. He was right. Donzou and Madara Uchiha were the same person. Madara had orchestrated the destruction of is clan for rejecting him. It bothered Naruto that there had been a traitor in their midst for so long and no one noticed.

"Watcha doin' dobe?" a voice said. Naruto started at hearing Sasuke's voice and dropped the scroll he was holding. It tumbled to the ground.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here!?!" Naruto asked as he hurried to pick up the scroll.

"Why do you sound so panicked? What are you hiding?" Sasuke teased as he tried to grab for Naruto's scroll.

"That's confidential Sasuke! And you don't answer a question with more questions." Naruto said as he pulled the scroll out of Sasuke's reach.

"Hn." He said, snatching for it again.

"Stop it, teme!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, what's in it dobe?"

Naruto could see that he wasn't going to get away without answering this question. "Information on a spy within the village." Sasuke's hand dropped. He was smirking.

"See, now was that so hard, dobe?"

Naruto smirked back. "I'm not a dobe teme!" Sasuke bought only half the truth. He was feeling guilty. As soon as he had Donzou arrested he would have to tell Sasuke the truth.

Sasuke saw the guilt in Naruto's eyes, but didn't push it. He understood that as the Hokage he had to keep secerts. "Wanna get some ramen dobe?"

Naruto looked questioningly at Sasuke, who shrugged. "Yeah, okay, but I have to take care of this first."

"I'll go with you." Naruto shrugged.

"Come if you want to." Naruto stood and Sasuke followed him.

They reached Naruto's office door. Naruto turned to Konohamaru, "Have you seen Ero-sennin?"

"He's looking for you. I'll find him if you . . ."

Naruto cut him off. "I'll handle this one." He did the hand signs for a quick tracking jutsu and grabbed Sasuke's hand as he was disappearing, taking Sasuke with him.

Sasuke and Naruto popped up right next to Jiraya, who was talking to Kakashi on the roof of the hospital. Though Sasuke would never admit it, he was impressed by how accurate Naruto's jutsu was.

"Naruto, Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Jiraya seemed to temporarily forget about Naruto being Hokage as he eyed the two boys holding hands.

Naruto released Sasuke's hand. He handed Jiraya the scroll Itachi had given him. "What's this?"

"Proof of the theory I told you about earlier. I want Donzou arrested and I want you to do it personally."

Naruto sounded so angry that Jiraya didn't dare refuse. "Hai, Naruto-sama."

"Good." Sasuke and Naruto disappeared and reappeared at Ichiraku's.

"Hey dobe? What was that about?"

"I'll tell you later. It's kinda complicated." They ordered and ate in silence. Sasuke was watching Naruto, who looked stressed. He wondered how complicated this was if it could stress out the normally hyper-active blond Hokage.

Ayamae ended up being the one who broke the silence. "Naruto, we haven't seen you in a while."

"No, I guess not. I've been pretty busy and Sakura and Lee drag me home to eat with them a lot lately."

For some reason that made Sasuke's stomach churn. He didn't like that Naruto was spending so much time with Sakura and Lee. Suddenly, as they paid, Konohamaru popped up next to them.

"Naruto-sama, Jiraya-sama sent me to inform you that Donzou has been apprehended and he needs you to perform the necessary chakra sealing jutsu."

"Alright, Sasuke come with me please."

"Um, okay." Sasuke was confused.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke followed Naruto not knowing what was going on. Naruto lead them to the high security containment zone under the Hokage building.

Sasuke finally got fed up with being out of the loop and tapped Naruto's shoulder. "Oi, why did I come along, Naruto?"

"Shh," Naruto waved his hand. "You will find out soon. Be patient teme." They were approaching the main door. The ANBU guards at the door bowed their heads to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama."

"We would like to see the prisoner and, also, could one of you send a messenger to bring Sai to my office?" Sasuke was startled by Naruto's unpredictable behavior. First by being guilty about the scroll and now asking for Sai? What was going on?

"Of course Hokage-sama. If I may ask, why the urgency? You can't be sure of charges yet."

"I can and I am. I don't want this to see the light of day, Wolf-san. How do you think the villagers will react if they find out that Danzou has been working against us with the Akatsuki?"

The ANBU visibly winced. "I see your point. Should I send a second messenger to the council to inform them?"

"No, send Jiraya. He should be able to handle the council. He knows of my decision from when we discussed this matter previously."

"Hai." The ANBU stepped aside and revealed the door to them. Sasuke was mystified. It seemed like Naruto was going out of his way to keep him out of the loop.

Naruto lead Sasuke through the door. Danzou was held in the middle of a seal painted on the floor that Sasuke knew would seal away his chakra when Naruto activated it.

To Sasuke's surprise Danzou started cackling the moment he set eyes on the Rokudaime. "It's about time you figured out my plot. You're only nine years late. You Leaf Ninja are slow." Sasuke stilled at the mention of the events nine years ago. Nine years ago when his clan was massacred. Nine years ago when his brother betrayed them. The brother that died by his hands. . .

Naruto made no answering comment, just activated the chakra sealing procedure. Ear-splitting screams echoed through the room. "It's over you won't escape." Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Let's go. I'll brief you and Sai on the situation at the same time." Sasuke was still frozen. Naruto tugged gently at his arm. "Come on teme."

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts to follow Naruto. They moved upstairs to Naruto's office in silence. Naruto broke it. "Are you okay Sasuke?" Sasuke stared at Naruto. His eyes were filled with worry. Worry about i/Sasuke./i The look in his eyes melted Sasuke's heart. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke snapped out of it quickly. "I'm fine, just. . . confused." 'About more than one thing,' Sasuke thought. 'What was wrong with me just now? I can't? Love? Naruto? No. That can't be it. No way.' Sasuke blushed for even thinking that.

Naruto eyed Sasuke's blush curiously. "Don't worry about it. I'll explain later. Are you sure you're okay? You look kinda hot."

Sasuke internally slapped himself. 'He didn't mean it like that! What's wrong with me?' The blush deepened. "I am fine."

"Okay. You can tell me if you're not you know. I'll get Lee to go with me on the mission. He'll want to anyway. I won't put you at risk if your not up for it."

Sasuke was horrified at the very idea of Naruto going without him. How was he supposed to make sure he was safe if he wasn't there? Lee wasn't enough to protect his Naruto. '_My_ Naruto!?!' "No. I'm fine, really Naruto."


	5. Chapter 5

Jiraya and Sai were waiting at Naruto's office door. Jiraya stepped forward as he saw Naruto and Sasuke approaching. "The council has agreed to your judgment on this issue. They think it is just as necessary as you do."

"Good. Sai, Sasuke, Come in please." Sai and Sasuke followed Naruto in. "I'm not sure how to explain this so I'll do the best I can." Naruto was staring down at the desk. "Sai, I asked you to come here because I'm offering you the position of leading Root."

"Of course Naruto-sama. It would be an honor but why? Has Danzou-sama stepped down?"

Naruto never lifted his head. "Not exactly. He has a double identity. Tonight he will be tried for treason. He is also Madara Uchiha." Sasuke started at the name.

"Who?"

"The leader of the Akatsuki. He is also the person that arranged the Uchiha Massacre."

Sasuke stared uncomprehendingly. "But Itachi. . ."

Naruto picked up the end of Sasuke's sentence. "Was following orders. I'm so sorry Sasuke. As Danzou he convinced the council that it had to be done."

Sasuke was shocked to silence. Naruto addressed Sai. "Report to the council for a debriefing on your position."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Sai left.

"Sasuke," Naruto came to sit next to Sasuke on the couch he had put into the office. "I'm so sorry."

At that moment the tears started flowing. Sasuke hurt. Naruto pulled Sasuke into his arms. Even through his shock, Sasuke was surprised by how comfortable he felt there, how right. That didn't stop the pain, though. "He didn't. . . He had orders. I . . I ... Killed him. I killed him and he never betrayed me."

"Shh. . . It's okay." Naruto tried to calm Sasuke down.

"But I killed him. I . . ."

"No you didn't." Naruto whispered. "I wanted to tell you but. . . I wasn't supposed to. I am SO sorry."

"But how?" Sasuke was visibly calmer, but he didn't want to move.

"It was very difficult but he had to do it to keep the truth from you. He didn't want you to track down Madara. He didn't want you to get hurt."

"Then. . . This is all Madara's fault." Sasuke's eyes were angry.

"Yes. . . That's why I'm leaving his punishment up to you."

Shock waves coursed through Sasuke's body. "Up to me?" Sasuke finally looked up at Naruto.

"Yup. Up to you. You need this. Who am I to take it away from you?" Sasuke stared at Naruto dumbly. 'Naruto really does care about me. But I can't. . . I don't. . . Love Naruto?'

"But, won't you get in trouble?"

"No, teme. The council has already agreed. It's your choice." Sasuke's eyebrows creased.

"Naruto. . ." 'I love? him? Could I?' "I don't think I. . . It's not a choice that I want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I came to terms with this and. . . more killings won't bring them back. But he does have to face consequences, but that's not my choice." Sasuke pulled himself away from Naruto, ignoring the empty feeling that ripped through his chest. "I'll meet you tomorrow Naruto."

"Okay. See you."


	6. Chapter 6

"He didn't want the choice? You offered but he didn't want it?" An incredulous voice said.

"No. He didn't. Madara still has to be executed. We can't allow him to live." Naruto sat in the council chamber, somewhere he hated to be.

"Yes. You're right. Of course you're right. Uchiha really refused?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes he did. I'm counting on you to take care of the execution. I'm leaving tomorrow and I have to prepare."

"No you don't. You already made sure there we people to take care of the village. As much as I was opposed to this idea not too long ago, making you Hokage was the right choice. I think I speak for us all when I say we're proud of you Uzumaki. You are living up to you're father's legacy."

"Thank you." Naruto got up to leave. "Take care of this village."

*************************************************************

Naruto sat on top of the fourth's head on the Hokage monument. He wasn't used to having so much free time. The hokage's work was never done but Naruto always found time to come up here. However, he wasn't used to coming up here and not being pressed for time and having to leave. He glanced down the line of monuments. Next was Tsunade and finally. . . him. He had finally reached his dream. He was Hokage. So why did it feel like he was missing something important?

'Sasuke. . .' a voice in Naruto's head muttered. That's right. What about Sasuke? Why had he felt so right holding Sasuke earlier? This feeling was alien to him. He felt sad when Sasuke was sad. He was happy to see him happy.

He looked over the village, wondering if he would see a familiar head of raven black hair in the crowd of people on the street. 'Probably not,' he mused. 'He said he would see me in the morning. Sasuke's never broken his word he before, why start now? No matter how much I wish I could tell him this.'

But deep-down, Naruto knew he would never tell Sasuke any of what he was feeling. He didn't know what this was, but he was sure it wasn't right. He had just gotten Sasuke back as his friend, he wasn't about to ruin that because of some confused feelings.

Naruto sighed. "Life is complicated."

Naruto wasn't aware he said the word out loud until a voice broke through his concentration. "Why do you say that?"

The owner of the voice sat down beside him. "Because it's true," Naruto told Sakura, unwilling to share more information.

"Maybe, but you shouldn't think so hard about it. You'll give yourself a brain hemorrhage." Naruto glared at her. "What's wrong Naruto? I know you prefer to talk to Sasuke, but, if there's something you can't talk to him about, I'm here for you."

Naruto started. Were his emotions that clear on her face? For a brief moment he considered telling her everything. "I. . . No. There's nothing."

"Naruto you know I know you better than that." Sakura said, her expression was pleading. "Please let me in."

"I. . . Sakura, what does it mean if I'm happy when someone else is happy, and seeing them sad makes me sad too?" Sakura laughed. "What?" Naruto asked. Had he unintentionally made a fool of himself?

"Love. Naruto, what you just described was love."

'Love?'

'Love. . . Sasuke? How surreal.'

"So, who do you love Naruto? You know the village girls are just dying to know who their sexy blond Hokage has fallen for." Sakura said. Naruto turned to face her. She was looking down at the village so he couldn't see her face.

"You're not serious?" Naruto stared at Sakura. He could feel a blush slowly forming on his face. "Sasuke's the one with fangirls, not me. YOU should know."

Sakura blushed but otherwise showed no reaction to Naruto's jibe. "How dense are you, baka? Haven't you seen them watching you? Don't you notice the way they stare at you? The way they talk about you when your back is turned?"

"They talk about me? Who are 'they'?" Naruto blushed.

"Um. . . EVERYONE! I've even heard some of the guys."

Naruto blushed even deeper. 'It's not Sasuke. That was stupid for me to even think.' "I'm going to go Sakura."

"You haven't answered me yet," Sakura whined.

"And I'm not planning on it."

"AW." But Naruto was already gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke sat in his tree at the old training ground. A normal person would be contemplating the fact that he had been lied to his whole life and the Leaf Village never thought to clue him in, but Sasuke was not a normal person. Not in the slightest.

Oh, no. He was not doing the logical thing and thinking about the reasons for the Leaf Village keeping things from him. Sasuke couldn't get Naruto out of his head. If he was going to think about Naruto, he should be thinking about how much Naruto did for him that no one else in the village would do. From bringing him back to the village and getting him reinstated as a ninja to telling him the truth about the massacre of his clan, Naruto was always there for him where no one else was. In his mind, images of Naruto kept running through his head. The look of worry in his eyes in the hallway, him pulling Sasuke into his lap, seeing Naruto at the hospital when he came back to the village . . Each memory brought a fluttery feeling in his chest. It was wonderful and driving Sasuke crazy all at the same time.

Why was it driving Sasuke crazy you ask? He didn't want to believe that he loved Naruto. He'd heard girls lusting after Naruto. Hell he'd even heard some guys. Why would he want to get caught up in that? Besides, Naruto could never feel the same way about him. It would just cause problems if he loved the dobe, so he wouldn't do it.

He couldn't. Could he? NO he couldn't. It would put him in a bad position. Very bad. . . 'Gah! I'm going to drive myself crazy thinking about this! I need a vacation.'

'And you're going to get one. A nice difficult one. And Naruto's coming with you.' An evil voice in his head whispered. 'no.' another voice whispered back. This voice wasn't near as strong.

Sasuke sighed and with that he fell asleep.

****************************************************

This is how Naruto found him when he wondered into the training ground hours after dark. Naruto frowned. 'What the hell is that bastard doing? He's gonna get sick. I don't want him sick.' There was a pause. 'I do care about him.'

The younger Naruto probably would have screamed at 'the teme' to get his ass up, but the older Naruto was more refined. He gently lifted Sasuke up and got ready to carry him home. He was about to take off when Sasuke cuddled himself into his chest as he slept. 'He's not sexy. He's not sexy.' Naruto told himself that over and over.

He snuck in Sasuke's window and set him in his bed. As he got up to leave, he decided to leave the teme a little surprise for in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

When Sasuke woke up he went rigid. How did he get here? He didn't remember coming home. In fact, he was almost sure he fell asleep in the training ground. He glanced around and was surprised to see a note on his bedside table.

Stupid Teme,

You shouldn't sleep outside. You'll get sick. Stupid Teme.

From: Do the math.

'Naruto. . .' Sasuke thought.

Naruto had taken Sasuke home? And he hadn't woken him up to yell at him? What the hell? Sasuke was thoroughly confused. He sighed. Quarter to seven, it was time to go meet Naruto. He picked his rucksack up off the table and headed out the door.

Naruto stood waiting for Sasuke at the gate. As Sasuke came around the corner, he almost fell to the ground as he was overcome by how sexy Naruto looked. He was dressed entirely in black, making him look mysterious, and had red strips running down the side seems of his shirt and pants. 'So sexy,' a voice in Sasuke's head whispered.

As he watched, two girls came up to their blond Hokage, clearly flirting their heads off. Naruto smiled at them and said something Sasuke couldn't understand. Their antics made Sasuke's blood boil. 'I want him to be mine and only mine.'

He picked up his pace and strode over to put himself between Naruto and the girls. "Are we going to leave, Naruto-sama? We don't want to be late."

Naruto raised his eyebrows both at Sasuke calling him 'sama' and at Sasuke's comment about being late. They were still early. But, Naruto wanted an excuse to get away from the flirting girls, so he agreed. "Yes. We should go."

They left together.

*******************************************************************

Finally, the silence between himself and his travel companion became too much for Sasuke. "Naruto, did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

Naruto looked up at his partner. "Mad at you? Why would you say that?"

Sasuke looked away, embarrassed. "I just thought, because you were so quiet and . . ."

Naruto chuckled. "I'm really not that stupid teme. I just acted like that because, well, that's what the village wanted from me. It made them more comfortable." Sasuke looked back into Naruto's eyes and was almost hypnotized by the depth he found there. Naruto truly wasn't the shallow idiot he pretended to be. "I just feel like I don't have to hide from you, like you won't hate me for being me. But, if it bothers you, then. . ."

Sasuke interrupted Naruto without thinking about the implications of his words, something very uncommon for the calculating Uchiha. "You shouldn't hide who you are dobe. Nothing that the Kyuubi did was your fault and you should stop acting like it is." Sasuke smiled at him. Really, he smiled.

Naruto stared for a second before breaking out a small true smile back. "Thanks Sasuke." Sasuke couldn't explain the swelling in his chest at seeing a true smile on his dobe's face.

Sasuke and Naruto had traveled at a speed that would far exceed an average ninja and arrived at the Hidden Grass Village before nightfall. They were currently being briefed on Kammedi Nuzio's training. He had been extremely advanced even from his Genin days. He had skipped the Chuninn rank entirely. Two years after graduating the academy, Nuzio had become a Jounin, never becoming a Chuninn in between. He had been promoted from Jounin, directly to Kage-in-training. He knew many forbidden jutsus and jutsus that were unique to the Hidden Grass Village. All in all, he was a deadly and dangerous opponent. And Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke's duty was to track him down.

The Kage offered them housing for the night at his private tower, which they graciously accepted. They were looking forward to one night where they wouldn't have to watch their own backs. They weren't expecting any of those in the nights to come.

As the Kage led them to his personal residence, they asked for him to show them around the edges of the village. They wanted to be able to plan the village's weak points so they knew the best place to set traps. His two elements were water and earth, so they had an advantage of knowing what type of jutsu to plan for Kammedi Nuzio to use.

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In the apartment of the Kage residence that the Kage had given to them Naruto and Sasuke sat planning. They needed to decide on what formations would be strong against a water and earth user. More often than not, the two were distracted by looking at each other.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked as they finished planning.

"Yeah?" Naruto whispered back, almost as if he were half asleep.

"You have to make it back alive. For the sake of Konoha, I mean. They can't lose the Rokudaime." 'And I can't lose you,' Sasuke finished in his head.

"You have to stay alive too, Sasuke. 私の幸福のため。(For my happiness)" Naruto whispered before he fell asleep. Sasuke could have gotten up and slept in the other bed across the room, but he chose to stay where he was. Next to Naruto, not touching him in anyway, just next to him.


	9. Chapter 9

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Naruto's eyes fluttered open at first light. He always had been a morning person, always one to watch the sunrise. As he sat up, he glanced over to his right side. And didn't look away. Sasuke looked like a fallen angel with the light streaming in from the window on his face. How could Sasuke not wake up with that glare shining in his eyes?

Even as he contemplated this, his mind wandered to how sexy he looked and how much he would love to kiss him awake. He mentally slapped himself. He needed to focus on the mission. He needed to forget about this and never come back to it again. This wasn't right. Besides, no matter how much he wanted it, Sasuke would never love him back.

Reluctantly Naruto tore his eyes away from Sasuke and got up to leave. He might as well gather some information on where to start before Sasuke got up. Naruto sighed. Like he told Sakura, life was complicated.

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Sasuke's eyes snapped open at the harsh sound of the alarm. He groaned. 8:30. Time to wake up. He glanced over to see if Naruto heard the alarm. 'Who knew if the blonde could sleep through something like that or not?' He shot up in panic when he realized that Naruto was not there. The panic only increase when he glanced around and saw that Naruto was not in the room at all.

Sasuke raced around the room at frantic speed, changing clothes and rubbing all traces of sleep form his eyes. Just as he tore back across the room to get his weapons, the door opened.

"What the hell are you doing? Where's the fire?" Sasuke's world momentarily froze. That voice. . . He didn't know whether to be furious or relieved.

Sasuke spun around as quickly as he had been moving before and had the blond Rokudaime pinned against the wall. "Where in the hell were you Idiot?"

"I was just gathering information. You weren't awake yet, so I figured I could get work done before Mr.-sleepy-head woke up. Why? Were you worried about me?"

Sasuke completely ignored the last statement, knowing it was nothing but the truth. "Mr.-Sleepy-Head?" Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Who are you to talk? What time did you get up?"

A light smirk appeared on Naruto's face. So Sasuke WAS worried about him. "5:30."

Sasuke blanched. "Whatever dobe." He pulled away from Naruto harshly.

Naruto frowned slightly. "Sasuke?"

"NOTHING!" Sasuke yelled. He came very close to blushing; worried Naruto had caught him while he was thinking of ways he wouldn't have minded Naruto waking him up.

"OK. Whatever. I found a place that we can start. Kammedi was sighted there yesterday."

Sasuke, grateful for the change of subject, asked, "Where?"

"A small town, about ten kilometers south of here."

"Let's go."

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Naruto and Sasuke had informed the Grass kage of their departure and headed out towards the town of Hitan. (A/N: hitan means sorrow) An odd feeling passed over the pair as they entered the small town.

"Creepy name, this town has," Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"Hn." Sasuke wholeheartedly agreed with Sasuke. What had happened to this town for it to be given a name as depressing as hitan? This was an odd situation and something seemed odd about Kammedi picking this place as a refuge. It was so close to the Village and word could be passed that he was here with very little time to respond. What was this supposed 'genius' planning?

The town's people here were a bit old fashion as the two soon discovered. Most places had only a few people that spoke their native language of Japanese fluently anymore, but it seemed that Hitan was an exception. There were very few people here that spoke English.

"The kage could have warned us about this. It interferes with our investigation," Sasuke grumbled as he realized that Naruto would be the only one able to communicate with these people.

Naruto turned and flashed Sasuke his signature smile before turning back to his conversation with a resident.

"人Kammediの名前を見たか。(Do you know a man by the name of Kammedi?)" Naruto asked an elderly woman.

"Kammediはここに歓迎されていない! (Kammedi are not welcome here!) Kammediなら、許可! (If you are a Kammedi, leave!)" The elderly woman anwered.

"私を私達ないKammediがの夫人保証することを許可しなさい。(Let me assure you, madam, we are not Kammedi.) 私はUzumaki Narutoおよびthat'である; s Uchiha Sasuke。(I am Uzumaki Naruto and that's Uchiha Sasuke.)" Naruto answered.

"Uzumaki Narutoか。 KonohaのRokudaimeか。(Uzumaki Naruto? Rokudaime of Konoha?)" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as she called him 'Rokudaime' instead of 'demon' or the equivalent.

"はい。 私のパートナーおよび私はここにKammedi Nuzioの前草kage'を暗殺することいる; sの徒弟。(Yes. My partner and I are here to assasinate Kammedi Nuzio, ex-grass kage's apprentice.)"

"彼を暗殺しなさいか。 ここに歓迎されている、友人常に。 その粗悪品はずっと余りに長くのためにずっと私達を押している。(Assasinate him? You are always welcome here, friend. That bastard has been pushing us around for far too long.)" The old woman sounded absolutely enthusiastic.

"ありがとう。 私達を助けて頂けますか。(Thank you. Can you help us?)" Naruto asked.

"私は私をできる考慮する。 He' s.aの独裁者、彼はある。 彼はここにの南14キロメートルのについてのキャンプを有する。 しかしcan' tのここにい、彼は頻繁に余りにチェックインする。 神の速度の友人。(I reckon I can. He's a dictator, he is. He has a camp about 14 kilometers south of here. But you can't stay here, he checks in too often. God speed friend.) The old lady wished them well.

"ありがとう。(Thank you.)" Naruto headed back to Sasuke.

"Well?" Sasuke said sharply, annoyed that he had missed a whole conversation.

"I know where his camp is, but we can't stay in this town."

Sasuke frowned. "Why not?"

"He checks in here. He acts as a dictator to this town."

"Right. Let's go. We can set up camp as a base and plan from there."

"Hai."


	10. Chapter 10

Sasuke cast a side-long glance in Naruto's direction as he set up their tent. Naruto was rigging traps around the premises. Some of those traps could paralyze a small elephant. No one was getting in here without them knowing about it.

Sasuke admired the ease that the dobe had at his work. He wondered how Naruto could possibly be content working at a desk all day. A very depressing thought occurred to Sasuke. If Naruto was going to die, this is how he would have wanted to go. In action.

Sasuke pushed such thoughts from his head. Naruto was not going to die. Sasuke wouldn't allow it. His dobe would be just fine, dammit. Sasuke needed to distract himself from such things. "Ne, Naruto?"

Naruto didn't even look up. "Yeah?"

"Don't you ever miss this?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked up for the first time. Sasuke thought he saw the slightest blush in Naruto's face. "Miss what?"

"You know, this," Sasuke said, waving his hands. "Doing missions. Being out here and not behind the Hokage's desk. This."

"Oh." Naruto's voice had a hint of disappointment in it. He had half-hoped Sasuke meant spending time together. 'Stupid!' he thought. "Not as much as you would think."

Sasuke's brow creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "You didn't think I would give all of this up at once, did you?"

"I'm not following you."

Naruto chuckled. "The Yondaime did the odd mission outside of the village too. I'm a lot like him. I don't like to sit still and doing nothing but paperwork would drive me insane."

Sasuke was abruptly furious. _His_ dobe was sneaking out of the village without protection. He could be killed. Not only would the village suffer, should that be the outcome, but Sasuke didn't think he could stand having his heart broken. "You've been SNEAKING OUT OF THE VILLAGE!" Sasuke yelled. "What if you get hurt? What if you're KILLED?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Why was Sasuke yelling at him? What difference did it make if left the village for a few hours at a time? He was the Hokage, god damn it. He could take care of himself for a few hours. He DID NOT need to be babysat.

"So what if I did?! I needed some action so I did what I had to do! It's not like you care anyway!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. The dobe thought he didn't care? Naruto cut off this train of thought quickly, "I'll take first watch."

Naruto had finished setting traps and went to sit down on a log. Sasuke looked up at the sky and Naruto was indeed correct. It had gotten dark. Between visiting Hitan, locating Kammedi's camp, finding their own campsite, and setting up camp, they had lost the whole day.

Sasuke nodded dumbly and went inside the tent. As he lay down, his mind kept wandering back to Naruto. _It's not like you care anyway!_

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After a few hours of restless sleep, all filled with dreams that concerned Naruto dying thinking that Sasuke didn't care about him. Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. He sat up in his sleeping bag. He had to talk to Naruto, to tell him the truth. Well, maybe not he whole truth, but at least the he did care.

With this in mind, Sasuke exited the tent. Naruto was lying on his back in the grass. At first, Sasuke thought he had fallen asleep. Then he realized he was gazing at the stars.

Sasuke hesitantly sat down next to him. "Hey," he whispered.

Naruto's eyes flashed towards him. "Hi." There was silence for a moment. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" Naruto finally asked.

"Maybe, but I can't sleep," Sasuke said. "I-I'm really s-s-sorry." Naruto's eyes filled with shock and confusion. Sasuke never apologized and especially not to him.

Sasuke, reading Naruto's expression, continued, "For yelling at you before. I was out of line, but you were wrong."

Naruto tried to stop himself from being angry. Sasuke was _trying _to apologize, after all. He just wasn't doing it right. "And what was I wrong about?" Naruto asked in as calm of voice as he could manage.

Sasuke looked at the ground. "You said I didn't care about you. You were wrong."

The anger that had started to build up was quickly negated. "Thanks, Sasuke."

A shooting star flew across the sky. Systematically, they each thought, 'I wish Naruto/Sasuke would love me.'

Naruto chuckled at the naivety of his thoughts. Of course Sasuke would never love him. Upon hearing Naruto's chuckle, Sasuke glanced at him. Had Naruto somehow read his thoughts? But, no, that couldn't be it. He was smiling. He'd be disgusted if he ever found out.

"What's so funny dobe?"

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "You should get some sleep. We have a few hours before we're supposed to switch watch."

Sasuke stood up. "Right." He walked back to the tent. "Goodnight," he whispered, thinking Naruto couldn't hear him.

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Naruto smiled gently at hearing Sasuke whisper 'goodnight.' He knew Sasuke didn't realize he could hear him so he didn't respond. But still, talking to Sasuke made him feel all warm inside. The teme cared about him. Maybe not to the same extent Naruto felt, but it was nice. He cared.

When the time came to wake Sasuke and switch watch, Naruto waited. He had heard Sasuke rolling around in the tent before. Likely, his sleep hadn't been very restful. He was sleeping peacefully now, though, so Naruto gave him an extra hour and a half before waking him. He didn't need as mush sleep any, because of the Kyuubi.

After an hour and a half, he knew he had to wake him or he would be angry. As Naruto entered the tent, he was smiling. Sasuke looked so relaxed in his sleep. He hated to have to wake him up.

Naruto touched Sasuke's shoulder, "Teme. Wake up. Sasuke." Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he tensed and relaxed as he saw Naruto.

"Time to switch?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "Okay, get some sleep."

"Goodnight," Naruto said as Sasuke got up.

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	11. Chapter 11

So sorry for the late update. School has got me really busy, but I WILL finish this story. Don't lose faith in me. I actually have my hard copy finished. It's just a matter of how fast I can type. Sorry again. R&R (I own nothing.)

As Sasuke exited the tent, he glanced at the time. Shock bypassed his flood gates. Naruto should have woken him up an hour and a half ago. Why would the dobe do that? Did he fall asleep? Sasuke immediately vetoed that idea. Naruto was a lot of things, but he wasn't irresponsible. He wouldn't gamble with their lives.

'Huh,' Sasuke thought. 'He's not really a dobe anymore, is he?' More and more, Sasuke found himself using Naruto's name in his head, rather than 'the dobe.'

But that wasn't the point. The point was: why did Naruto do it? Sasuke sighed. He didn't think he would ever understand Naruto. Maybe . . . ugh! He was making his head hurt.

Strangely, thinking about Naruto didn't bother him like it did that first night in the training ground. He had accepted it. Yes, he was gay and yes, he was in love with Uzumaki Naruto so what?

Sasuke sighed again. His acceptance didn't mean anything. Yes, he loved Naruto, but Naruto didn't love him, so what difference did it make? None. It makes no difference at all.

For the first time since he came back to Konoha and to Naruto, Sasuke felt himself falling into depression. Maybe this was why he was captured so easily. One minute, he was sitting in the grass, staring at nothing but empty space and the next minute a face he recognized from photographs was staring back at him, Kammedi Nuzio. But how had he gotten through without tripping Naruto's traps?

Sasuke opened his mouth to yell to Naruto, but he wasn't fast enough. Kammedi flew through hand signs faster than even the sharingan could see. "Forbidden-style: Senses Paralyzer Jutsu." A black mist floated from Kammedi's hand to Sasuke's face and his words were silent before they even left his mouth.

"Sorry mate. But I can't take the chance of your friend in there finding out I'm here." Sasuke struggled with his voice, trying desperately to warn Naruto. "It's no use mate. The paralyzer jutsu will slowly over come your senses. First your voice, then your hearing, your smell, taste, vision, and lastly, your feeling. It will be like floating in the void."

Sasuke struggled to hang on, struggled to warn Naruto, but just as the ex-apprentice was describing it, it was happening. 'I'm sorry, Naruto,' was his last thought before he collapsed.

Nuzio picked up Sasuke roughly and slung him over his shoulder. "I thought Leaf ninja were supposed to be the best," Nuzio remarked before disappearing in a gust of black wind.

Naruto sensed the dark aura emitted from the chakra and sat bolt upright. The chakra disappeared as quickly as it had come and Naruto thought maybe he imagined it, but his instinct told him to check it out.

Horrified, he stepped out of the tent into empty space. "Sasuke," Naruto whispered. The next emotion to hit was blind rage. How DARE that damn Kammedi take HIS Sasuke away from him!

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He wasn't doing Sasuke any good standing here, feeling angry. He needed to get his head in order. 'Okay,' Naruto thought to himself, 'the first step is to pick up camp.'

His hands flew into a very familiar hand sign. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Packing was finished in less than a minute. Okay, Naruto needed to find out where Sasuke was, but it was a bad idea to pop up in the middle of Kammedi's camp. Naruto made a few modificationis to the jutsu he and Sasuke used to track Jiraya. He then used the jutsu to track Sasuke's position, but not transport to him. That would put him at a disadvantage. He didn't need any more of those. Kammedi already had his most precious person.

Naruto stashed the camping gear on his way. It would only slow him down. Kammedi was keeping Sasuke six kilometers south of his original camp. If Naruto hurried he could make it there before dawn. He just had to save Sasuke.

Plagued with worry foe his teme, he made it to the river where Sasuke was being held in double time. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to just rush in. He knew Kammedi must have set some traps.

Naruto examined his surroundings. Sasuke was held in a giant bubble filled with water in the center of the river, similar to the prison Kakashi was held in by Zabuza. Sasuke was unconscious and floating on his back in the center. To Naruto, he looked like a fallen angel.

'Sasuke,' Naruto thought. 'Don't worry. I'll get you out of there.' He needed a plan to lure Kammedi Nuzio out in the open so Naruto could get to Sasuke. Naruto created two shadow clones and a blood clone. Naruto had a plan. One of the shadow clones stayed with the real Naruto. He sent the blood clone to a position directly behind Sasuke's prison and had the other shadow clone attack the front.

"Nice try," Nuzio said. He dispersed the shadow clone with one hit. "Now come out you," he looked towards the place where the blood clone was hiding. "We have some negotiating to do for your partner's welfare."

Naruto smiled. His plan was working perfectly. All villains were the same. How it was his turn. All he had to do was not mess this up. He put up an invisibility jutsu as he crept towards Sasuke's prison, just in case the ex-apprentice's attention was not fully devoted to the blood clone. Though it should be, Naruto had put a powerful forbidden genjutsu on it that should hold Nuzio's attention for at least a few minutes be fore he figured it out.

Naruto reached Sasuke's water prison. He touched the edge of the sphere, hoping to find some weakness in the jutsu that he could use to his advantage. He wasn't all together surprised when he found none. He was dealing with a kage's apprentice after all.

So Naruto resorted to Plan B. He coated his arms in the Kyuubi's chakra and reached towards the cage again. He hoped that the darkness in the nine-tailed chakra would counter the prison jutsu.

He breathed a sigh of relief when his arms entered the prison. He grabbed onto Sasuke's hand but received no response. 'Okay,' he thought. 'Here we go.'

Naruto focused on pushing Kyuubi's chakra away from himself to surround Sasuke. He was relieved when he was able to extract Sasuke from the sphere. That relief quickly turned to panic as Sasuke still wasn't roused.

"Sasuke, wake up," he whispered, as he put his hand on Sasuke's forehead. With a gasp, he retracted his had immediately.

The amount of dark chakra that Nuzio somehow forced into Sasuke's body was almost to much. Naruto quickly took out a scroll and hurriedly made the markings for a release on it. When he finished, he placed it on Sasuke's chest.

"Please be okay," Naruto whispered and activated the release. The amount of dark chakra that was released into the atmosphere amazed Naruto. How could Sasuke possibly have survived that?

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	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open with a gasp. "Sasuke, thank God!" Naruto whispered as he pulled him into an embrace.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "What happened? Are you really here this time?"

Naruto pulled back and frowned. "Of course I'm here. You didn't think I would abandon you did you?" As Naruto was speaking, his shadow clone transformed into Sasuke and took his place in the prison.

Sasuke didn't answer, just clung to Naruto. Naruto's frown deepened but he chose not to comment. "Come on. We have to get out of here before he breaks my jutsu."

Sasuke nodded and struggled to stand. He found it impossible. His chakra system was going into reboot because of all the dark chakra Kammedi had forced into him. He couldn't gain access.

Naruto sighed and picked Sasuke up in his arms. Sasuke was still feeling pretty out of it, so he didn't protest, just pulled himself tighter against Naruto. He had fantasized that Naruto would come for him many time over the past few hours, but he could never _feel _him. It was a relief for him to be able to feel Naruto's arms around him. Unable to control himself, he shook with silent sobs.

When Naruto asked if he thought he would abandon him, he hadn't answered. It wasn't because he thought he would, but because he didn't deserve Naruto. He claimed to love him, but he was always putting him in dangerous situations. It wasn't fair and Naruto should ditch him already. But Naruto would never do that. He was far too nice. Sasuke shook harder.

"Shh," Naruto whispered. "It's okay. We're going to get out of here." Naruto was heading in the opposite direction of their first camp, knowing that going back for the gear would give them away.

They came to a hilly area with a waterfall at the center. Naruto chose to hide behind the waterfall. It was the most strategic idea to be in the center. Taking Sasuke behind the waterfall, he set him down. Sasuke struggled to stop the silent sobbing. He didn't want Naruto to see any more weakness in him.

"Are you okay?" Naruto whispered. He was worried about Sasuke. Sasuke nodded his head, finally getting the sobbing under control. "Let me check," Naruto whispered. He couldn't stand the idea of Sasuke in pain. Naruto reached out to touch Sasuke's forehead, surrounded in green chakra. Sasuke's head cleared almost instantly.

"Thanks," Sasuke whispered, "but we can't waste anymore time." Sasuke sat up. "We need a plan."

"I agree," Naruto said, "but we're out of planning time." Naruto was staring at a point over Sasuke's head. Sasuke turned quickly. Sure enough, they had been followed. Kammedi was a very persistent tracker. Sasuke got to his feet and took his place beside Naruto. "We have to get out of here," Sasuke murmured. "We are at a disadvantage with our backs against the wall." Naruto nodded.

"It's a shame, mate. You had to go and trick me like that. I might have let you live before, had you agreed to my conditions, but I don't offer second chances."

Naruto snorted. "As if." Even after all the time Sasuke had spent as a missing-nin, he and Naruto found that they were still in sync. This time was no exception. Naruto and Sasuke both spun at the same time, kicking up enough dirt to cover their escape.

They didn't bother trying to hide. The fight was imminent. They only moved to a more spacious are with more room to maneuver. Their choice destination was above the waterfall, just before the lake the river led to. They knew they were giving Kammedi an advantage by surrounding the fight with water, but they were out of options. They'd have to make do.

Just in time, Kammedi made his appearance. "You will die! I will kill you!" Kammedi made the first move, flying through the hand signs. "Water style: Tidal Wave Jutsu!" A giant tidal wave erupted from the river coming at the duo.

Sasuke reacted. "Fire style: Grand Fire Ball Jutsu." All the water evaporated. Naruto followed up quickly. "Wind style: Bladed Wind." Giant wind gusts gained sharp edges and cut at Kammedi. He tried to dodge by putting up a chakra barrier but the blades sliced right through it and cut at Nuzio.

Apparently Kammedi decided that hand-to-hand combat would be more beneficial to him. He disappeared from his original position and Naruto and Sasuke turned to they were back to back, taking defensive positions. Watching each other's backs. This strategy would have worked it they were facing a normal opponent, but Nuzio attacked from a direction that neither of them were prepared for. Beneath them.

One minute they were standing back to back, guarding each other, and the next minute Sasuke was flying through the air and Nuzio was standing in his place. A kunai wasa suddenly pressed to Naruto's neck.

"Freeze now. Cooperate and I'll kill you real quick. You'll be dead before you realize what's happening to you, mate." Naruto activated a jutsu without hand signs, which he trained hard on with Jiraya to master. The ground under Kammedi became quicksand. Kammedi started sinking, cursing all the while.

Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before Kammedi figured out how to break the jutsu, (which was as easy as just relaxing) so he attacked at that moment. The quicksand made it impossible to try and kill him because it would absorb the threat, so he settled for a _very_ hard hit. An uppercut connected with his chin and sent him sprawling into a tree. He was slightly dazed, but still able to fight.

"You're going to pay for that, mate," he threatened.

**Sorry for the late update, but I'm finding it difficult to write two chapter stories at once. Please review anyway and check out the other story I'm currently working on, Motive or Random Attack.**


	13. Chapter 13

Sasuke flew through the air and landed in the river. He was being sucked under by the current. He fought as hard as he could with one thought in mind. _I can't leave Naruto to fight alone. _When he finally broke the water's hold on him and surfaced, he was faced with a sight he didn't want to see.

Naruto had been hit with an earth style jutsu that had collapsed the ground around him and Kammedi was preparing to take the final shot. Sasuke was horrified by this and acted rashly and without thinking.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." The fire balls connected with Nuzio's back and he screamed out in immense pain.

"Big mistake kid. You won't live to see another day!" Nuzio forgot about the injured Rokudaime for a moment and focused his attention on the ANBU Captain. "Forbidden Art: Black Water Prison!" The water Sasuke was standing on turned a menacing black and shot up in a cage around him. At first Sasuke wasn't afraid, but he felt the cage jolt under him almost like it was about to fall underwater.

* * *

Naruto recovered himself reasonably quickly under the present circumstances and came up behind Nuzio, effectively stabbing with a concoction that he developed especially for the occasion. Nuzio's chakra completely sealed over, leaving him paralyzed. The condition was only temporary but effective.

"It's too late, mate. Your partner will die and it's all your fault. You were too weak to protect him." Naruto looked over in time to see Sasuke's cage pulled completely underwater.

His internal debate didn't last longer than a second. He would save Sasuke before finishing Kammedi off. He ran for the water, praying he wasn't too late.

As he got to the edge, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs for the last time and submerged himself in the water. Sasuke's cage was on the bottom of the river bed and bubbles flowed furiously from Sasuke's mouth as he tried to break out. His efforts stopped abruptly as he ran out of air. Naruto redoubled his efforts to make it to Sasuke.

As he came to the edge of the cage, he didn't have time for games. Without testing the cage's strength, he used a jutsu he had learned from a forbidden scroll he had read in the last year of his apprenticeship to Tsunade to break it apart.

He reached out to grab Sasuke, pulling him towards him. He could see that on Sasuke's current level of air, he would never make it too the surface. On impulse, he brought Sasuke's mouth onto his, sealing them together, breathing air into it, about half as what he had. He then began pulling him to the surface.

Because of that simple contact, Sasuke's heart was fluttering and he used oxygen far faster than necessary. They were a good six meters from the surface when Sasuke ran out of oxygen again.

Naruto decided that he could make it a few meters without air and brought Sasuke's lip to his again. Naruto would never regret this decision.

For the next few meters, Sasuke led Naruto, but did not drag him. Naruto proved he could operate better than Sasuke on lack of air.

As they broke the surface, both men gasped for breath. Sasuke collapsed on his back on the ground while Naruto stayed on his knees over him. Naruto was more concerned for Sasuke than himself. "Sasuke, you okay?"

Sasuke's eyes found Naruto's and he was encouraged be the caring he saw there and the recent happenings of the past few weeks to risk it all. Quite breathlessly he said, "Kiss me again."

**I don't think that this chapter really matches my past writing style, but I've rewrote this too many times and kept you waiting too long. Please R & R and tell me how far off the tone is.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I know, I know. This chapter has taken **_**waaaaayy **_**too long. But have no fear this chapter and the next one will bring this story to an end.**

_*Kiss me again.* *Kiss me again.* *Kiss me again.*_

Sasuke's words echoed in Naruto's ears, bouncing off the sides of his head, shocking him into silence. And he wanted to. God, he wanted to, but he couldn't seem to make himself move. "S-sasuke. . ."

Sasuke's face fell as Naruto appeared to take no action. "Naruto, I. . ."

Whatever Sasuke had been about to say was lost when a loud crash broke the silence of their hearts smashing against their respective rib cages. Simultaneously, they whipped around to stare at the still-paralyzed former apprentice. He was releasing chakra in giant waves trying desperately to release himself from the bindings of the poison Naruto had infected him with. So far he wasn't having any success, but the paralysis wouldn't last forever, hence the reason Naruto had to consider his priorities when choosing between finishing Nuzio as soon as he was infected and saving Sasuke's life. A no-brainer really.

Sasuke. . . "We've got to finish him now," Naruto said calmly.

"Hai," Sasuke answered.

"I got this one." Naruto moved forward, extracting a large knife from Nuzio's own belt before grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against a nearby rock and spoke in a soft threatening tone of voice that was only heard by him captive. "I could forgive you for hurting me, but no one survives threatening _my Sasuke." With that he cleanly took his head off._

_The two moved around each other quickly, easily, efficiently, preparing the body to be reduced to ash to keep the secrets of the forbidden jutsus that Nuzio had known -well- secret. Sasuke flippantly used a fire-style jutsu to ignite the body. They stood silently and watched the body burn. _

"_We have a long way to go if we want to get back and report to the grass kage today," Naruto murmured._

"_We're going straight back there?" Sasuke asked. Briefly, he worried that his impulsive words would dissolve their working relationship._

"_Mmm. Well we should probably retrieve the camping gear I stowed earlier this morning and no offense but I don't think you're up for the trip all the way back to the Hidden Grass Village today."_

"_I'm fine," Sasuke protested._

_Naruto turned to look Sasuke in the eyes for the first time. "Sasuke," he murmured, "you almost died twice today. Humor me. It will probably take us the rest of the day to find where I stowed our equipment."_

"_Fine. We'll get the gear and camp for the night," Sasuke huffed indignantly. _

_Naruto couldn't help it, he chuckled lightly. "Don't be so childish teme." He punched him lightly. Sasuke frowned. Was Naruto going to act like nothing happened? Naruto didn't like the frown on Sasuke's beautiful face and decided to erase it in the first way that popped into his mind. Sasuke eye's widen and then slid contently closed as he felt warm lips cover his own._

_Naruto pulled away and stroked Sasuke's cheek until he opened his eyes. "This is okay, right? You wanted this, didn't you?"_

"_Naruto. . . Yes. Yes, I want this. All of this." Sasuke leaned in for another kiss. His arms wrapped around Naruto's waist while one of Naruto's hands continued to cup Sasuke's cheek and the other buried itself in his hair. _

_When they pulled back after what felt like eons, Naruto rested his head lightly against his new boyfriend's forehead. "Jeez, Sasuke, you almost died on me twice today. I can't take another day like this."_

"_God, I know, Naruto. I know."_


End file.
